Platen printing-press.



PATENTED APR. 19, 1904.

J. HEIM. PLATEN PRINTING PRESS. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7, 1903. N0 MODEL. 6 SHEETS-SHEET 1'.

PATENTED APR. 19, 1904.

J. HBIM.

PLATEN PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7, 1903.

6 SHEETS-BHEBT 2.

NO MODEL.

' PATENTED APR. 19, 1904.

J. HBIM.

PLATEN PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION 111.31) NOV. '1, 190a.

- e SHEETS-SHEET 3.

l0 MODEL. I

PATENTED APR. 19, 1904.

J. HEIM. 1

PLATEN PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7, 1903.

e sums-41mm 4.,

x0 MODEL No. 757,458. PATBNTED APR. 19, 1904.

J. HEIM.

PLATEN PRINTING PRESS.

APPLIOATION rnnnnov. 7, 1903.

NO 1101121.. e sums-sum 5 No; 757,458. PATENTED APR. 19, 1904. J. HEIM.

PLATEN PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7, 1903. No MODEL. e SHEETS-SHEET a.

U ITE STATES Patented April 19, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEF HEIM, OF OFFENBACH, GERMANY.

PLATEN PRINTING-PRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 757,458,, dated April 19, 1904. Application filed November 7, 1903. fierial No. 180,287. (No model.)

To all, whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnn HEIM, a subject of the German Emperor, residing at Frankfurterstrasse 111, Olfenbach-on-the-Vfain, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Platen Printing-Presses, of

which the following is a specification.

platen printing-presses. Two classes of presses of this kind havehitherto been known. One class, intended less'for fine printing-work than for exerting very powerful pressure, comprised presses'with fixed type-beds andtogglelever action. In cases where fine printing-work was required rather than powerful pressure a machine with a rocking type-bed and crank action was used. 'Both these classes of machine were unsatisfactory, for the reason that with the one no fine work could be performed and with the other no' work requiring a high degree of pressure.

The object of the present invention is to pro-' vide a printing-presspossessing the advantages of. both classes of press referred to above, the invention essentially consisting in the use of a rocking bed in combination with toggle-lever action. In designing a machine of this kind the following difiiculties arise. The known laterally-rocking type-bed possessed very considerable unbalanced weight, which was injurious to the working of the machine and to the life of the driving parts and necessitatedthe use of high power. The arrangement of the bed in this manner was also injurious to the efficiency of the machine, since the bed could only be moved upward and downward very slowly. To remove these disadvantages, the bed of the improved machine is balanced by means of a special balanceweight and system of levers. By this means all injurious strain on the driving parts is re- .moved; but the disadvantage arises that the inertia of the balanced bed would produce during the upward movement of the latter a mo mentum by which the platen and the usual movable tray coupled thereto would be torn from their bearings when the bed reached its end position. There would also be a lack of momentum to producelor initiate the downward movement, so that the bedwould-remain in its upper position. The too violent upward movement of the bed and the stopping of the latter in its highest position could be obviated by using positive gear for controlling the upward and downward movement of the bed; If, however, the downward movement of the rocking parts were positive, the machine would break This inventlon relates to improvements in its highest position it stops very gently and moves the tray operated by it gently against its abutment on the platen. Whilethis is being done, force is stored in the machine in such a manner that notwithstanding the complete balancing of the rocking bed the descent of the latter takes place with gradually-decreasing force', so that at the lowest point the said force is insuflic ient to crush the printers hand, since if after the adjustment of the machine any article besides the matrix and the like is on the platen'the bed cannot be locked. The said element must not only possess sufficient force to move the bed downward unaided, but must also overcome the weight and friction of the tray operated by it, so as to move it in.

According to my invention springs are used for this purpose, and by this means the desired object is fully attained.

In the annexed drawings; Figure 1 is a side view of the entire press. Fig. 1 is a similar view of a modified form of press. Fig. 2 is a side view of the press provided with the inking device, and Fig. 3 a diagrammatic view illustrating various positions of the inkingcarriage. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the bedreleasing mechanism. Fig. 5 is a sideelevation showing mechanism for insuring uniform inking of the ink-roller. Figs. '6 and 7 are detail views of parts shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is an end view of the machine, showing mechanism for laterally displacing the inkingrollers and mechanism for throwing the inkingdevice into and out of gear. Fig. 9 is a detail view of the first-mentioned mechanism of Fig. 8, and Figs. 10 and 11 are detail views of the last-mentioned mechanism of Fig. 8.

The type-bed 1 is completely balanced by means of. an arm 2, extending beyond its fulcrum and connected by a rod 3 to a lever 4, which carries a balance-weight 5. The typebed is thus adapted to remain stationary in any position into which it is moved, so that it is incapable of exerting force and of injuring the printer. The balancing of the bed 1 would, however, have the effect that said bed would not return .to its original position after being positively moved upward by means of the cam 7 on the shaft 6, sothat printing would be impossible. Means must therefore be provided to move the bed downward from its highest position; but this must be done in such a manner that no injury is done to the printers hands if they are not removed from the platen in time. For this purpose there is provided at one or both sides springs 8, connected at 9 to the arm 2 and at 10 to the weighted lever 4. These springs 8 are adjusted with slight tension when the bed is closed, (see Fig. 1, dotted lines,) so that the attendant can leave his hand on the platen during the descent of the type-bed without suffering injury. During the positive upward movement of the bed by the cam 7 the tension of the springs 8 is increased proportionately to the difference between the stroke of the point 11 and that of the point 10that is to say, proportionately to the difference between the lines a and b and a and 0. The energy thus absorbed by the springs 8 is used for giving the bed a downward impulse and moving it back to its lowest position. This is efl'ected by the tendency of the springs to pull the connecting-rod back to its original position when the summit of the cam 7 has cleared a roller 12 on the balance-weight lever 4. The said spring also serves as a brake during the upward movement of the bed and stops the latter in its highest position, thus forming, so to say, bu'ifer-springs, which are subjected to tensile instead of a compressive strain.

To regulate the tension of the springs 8,

their point of attachment to the balance-weight levers 4 need only to be altered by placing it nearer to or farther from the pivot thereof. The leverage used for tensioning the spring during the upward movement of the bed is thus increased or reduced, and it is unnecessary to tension the springs more or lessthat is, make them shorter or longer in adjusting them, their points of attachment being simply altered, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l, and the length of the springsbeing regulated by means of set-screws.

In order to reduce the strain on the springs or prevent their overstraining when the press is running at very high speed, another arrangement (shown in Flg. 1) 1s used by means of which the weight 5 does not act on the same lever as the springs 8, but on a separate lever system 3 4. The arrangement of the springs is the same as before; but the balance-weight is adjustably connected to a separate lever 4, pivoted at 63. The said lever 4 is connected at 4 to a rod 3', pivoted at 2 to the arm 2, extending beyond the fulcrum of the bed 1. Before the bed reaches its highest position this point 2 is rocked beyond the deadpoint of the balanced bed. When the weight reaches its lowest position, it is pulled upward again by the lever 4', so that the weight itself receives a rocking motion opposed to that of the bed, and thus assists the springs 8 to check the upward movement of the bed. The construction of the press in this manner, with a balanced rocking type-bed and wellcontrolled action, has the further advantage that the press can be directly provided with an inking device in such a manner that the inking-carriage is pressed freely against the bed without guide-rails and that the bed can be inked in its elevated position beyond reach of the platen. The material on which the impression is to be made can thus be moved over the platen without being soiled, and, the inking operation can be single, double, or continuous.

The inking device referred to is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. The inkingcarriage 13 receives its upward-and-downward motion from a connecting-rod 14, operated by a lever 16, mounted on a rock-shaft 15. The said lever receives its rocking motion through any suitable mechanism by which the shaft 15 is driven. The aforesaid connecting-rod 14 is extended beyond the point at which the lever 16 operating it is connected, and to the end of this extension a traction-spring 19 is attached at 18. The other end of the said spring 19 is connected at 20 to a lever 21, pivoted on the rocking lever 16. This lever 21 is extended beyond its fulcrum and carries at its further end a roller 22, which slides on a cam-path 23 on the machine -frame. This cam-path is so shaped that on the movement of the lever system 16 14 21 and spring 19, and therefore of the inking-carriage 13, the spring 19 possesses and maintains the same length in any position, thus always having the same tension. If said spring, for instance, were directly connected with the rocking lever 16, the pull, and thus the tension of the spring, would be different in every position of the inking-carriage and the spring sub- .jected to a continuous change of strain, which would soon cause it to became worn and unserviceable. By the arrangement of the said spring 19 in connection with the connectingrod 14 the inking-carriage under spring-pressure isso pressed against its guide-paths that it passes over the form, and therefore the type-bed 1, without guide-rails under as uniform a pressure as possible and receives less pressure outside or beyond the bed, especially at the point where the inking-rollers 24 come into contact With the ink-feedroller 25. This is explained by the fact that the spring pull, which is of equal force in all positions, has the least leverage in the highest and the lowest position of the inking-carriage 13 and then exerts the least pressure on the latter, since in these positions the position of the connecting-rod with regard to the rocking-lever gives the least leverage. The inking-rollers will therefore pass the ink-feed roller 25 with only a slight pressure, which is very advantageous for taking up the ink, as well as I the always equal pressure of the carriage against the type-bed 1 or form for the printing. By the elastic pressing on of the inking carriage itself a resilient mounting of the inking-rollers in their carriage 13 becomes superfluous, and the great advantage is attained of being able to give the rollers a firm bearing.

7 To effect single, double, or continuous inking with the inking device described, mechanism shown in Figs. 2 and 4 is used. This comprises a disk 26, fixed to the main shaft 6 and having mounted on ita roller 27, adapted to operate a lever 28, pivoted to the machineframe. The lever 28 is adapted to operate a pawl-and-ratchet gear 31 by means of levers 29 and 30. Fixed to the axle of the ratchetwheel is a cam 32, with four bosses and four recesses. This cam is in contact with a bellcrank lever 35, having a roller 33 on one of its arms and actuated by a spring 34. This lever 35 is adapted to lock the-bed 1 in its highest position, Fig. 2. The action ofthis mechanism is as follows: When the bed 1 is moved from its closed position, Fig. 1, dotted lines, to its most elevated position, Fig 2, the

disk 26 moves the roller 27 into its lowest position, Fig. 4. By this means the ratchetwheel 31 and cam 32 are operated so that the ratchet-wheel is rotated to the extent of one tooth as for each bed movement, and the roller 33 of the rocking lever 35 alternately engages an elevation and a recess on the camdisk 32. By this means it is possible for the lever 35 to hold thebed fast in its highest position during one movement of the press. To render possible continuous inking of the bed 1, hand-operated disengaging mechanism is provided. This mechanism, which is shown in Fig. 4, comprises an adjusting-lever 36, a

rod 37, and two links 38. By this means it is rendered possible to so reduce the effective length of the rod 29, cqnnected to the levers 28 and 30, that said lever 28 is moved out of the path of the roller 27 While the press is running and the ratchet-wheel 31 is being continuously operatedthe disengaging mechanism is operated when the bed 1 is in its,

locked positionz'. 6., highest p'osition-so that the lever 28 is moved out of engagement with the disk 26 or roller 27. The ratchet- Wheel 31 is consequently no longer operated,

and the cam 32 remains stationary in the po- .vantage that according to the adjustment of the cam 32 single, double, or continuous inking of the bed can be effected.

Another very important advantage of the improved press consists in the arrangement of a device by means of which absolutely uniform distribution of ink on the ink-cylinder is obtained. This device is shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7.

Hitherto the ink has been applied to the inkroller by hand by means of i a lick-roller, the ink being applied by means of a spatula. The even distribution of the ink was only effected after the ink-roller had been running some time, since the application of the ink by means of the spatula cannot be made with the regularity required for perfect printing. To remove this disadvantage and provide means for the absolutely uniform distribution of the ink on the inking-roller by hand, the device, referred to above is used with the improved press. The said device essentially comprises two levers 41, pivoted on the shaft 40 at the sides of the machine and adapted to'be rocked by means of' the bed 1 and a lever 42. To the upper ends of the lever 41 are pivoted levers 43, provided with handles and connected to each other by an axle which carries the lickroller 44. The latter or the levers 43, carry ing it, may be fixedly connected to the levers 41 by meansof pins 46, adapted to be removably inserted in suitable apertures or loops in said levers 41 and 43, and when said levers are so connected the roller will rock with the said levers 41 and come into contact with the boxroller 47 on one hand and the ink-cylinder 25 on the other hand, so as to apply ink to the latter. To render possible the perfectly uniform extra application of ink by hand at intervals during the running of the press, the roller 44 can be uncoupled from the levers 41 by re-- moving the pins 46 from the levers 41 and 43. The levers 43 and the roller 44 can then be rotated on their pivots by means of the handle; It is thus possible to move the roller 44 to the roller 47 and to the cylinder 25, as desired, and thus to apply ink to the latter. To uniformly and thoroughly distribute the inkon the cylinder 25, there are arranged on the latter three distributing-rollers 48, Figs. 5, 8, and 9, two of which move in one direction and the third in the opposite direction. As is known, the distribution of ink must depend on the nature of the inkand the impression desired. In order to render possible different lateral displacement of the distributing-rollers 48, according to the different requirements, the adjusting mechanism shown in Figs. 5, 8, and 9 is used. This mechanism com prises two grooved disks 50, one of which is arranged at each end of the axle 49 of the roller 25 for the purpose of operating the adjusting mechanism by means of rocking levers 51 with rollers 52 engaging said grooved disks. Pivotally connected to each lever 51 is a double-armed lever 52, slotted at its lower end and bifurcated at its upper end, the connection being made by means of an adjustment-screw engaging into the slot of the lever 51, so that the relative lengths of the levers 51 and 52 can be altered. By this means the stroke of the lever 52 can be altered, and consequently the lateral displacement of the rollers 48 increased or reduced, since the bifurcated end of the lever 52 engages the axles 53 of the rollers 48.

To allow of throwing the inking mechanism into or out of gear at any time, the uncoupling device shown in Figs. 8, 10,-and 11, is used. This device comprises a treadle-lever 54:, connected by a lever 55 to a disk 56, with four pins 57 fixed to one side of it and a cam-path 58 for a disengaging lever 59 on the other side. To hold the said lever 59 in close permanent contact with the path 58, a spring 60, Fig. 8, is attached to said lever and the machine-frame. Said spring tends to draw the friction-clutch into position to disconnect the inking mechanism from its driving-gear. If when the clutch is operative, as shown in Fig. 8, at which time the lever 59 is in contact with the narrow part of the cam-path the lever 54: is operated by the attendant, so as to be moved into its lowest position, Fig. 11, the disk 56 is rotated to the extent of one pin-space, and the position of the cam-path 58 with regard to the lever 59 is so altered that the clutch 61 is thrown out of gear. The lever 54: is thereupon released and returns to its normal position under the action of the spring 62, and the lever 55 engages the next pin, so that when the lever 54 is operated the next time lever 59 will be rocked to move the clutch to operative position and place the spring'60 under tension. The inking mechanism is thus thrown into gear when the narrow part of the path'58 is in engagement with the lever 59 and is thrown out of gear when the broad part of the path is in contact with the lever.

. ancing the latter consisting of a lever connected thereto, and provided with an adjustable balance-weight, said lever being mounted so that during the ascent of said bed it is rocked beyond the dead-point of balance substantially as described.

2. In a platen-printing press, the combination with a type-bed and means for rocking the same, of a counterweighted lever for balancing said bed, and springs connected to the latter and to said counterweighted lever, said springs'being tensioned in proportion to the upward movement of the bed substantially as described for the purpose set forth.

3. In a platen printing-press, the combination with a type-bed, and means for rocking the latter, of a rearward extension to the latter, a counterweighted lever connected to said extension for balancing the bed, and springs connected to said extension and adjustably connected to the counterweighted lever, said springs being tensioned during the upward movement of the bed in proportion to the difference of the points of attachment of said springs to the counterweighted lever and of the latter to the bed respectively, substantially as described.

4. In a platen printing-pressgthe combination of a type-bed and means for rocking thesame, of a pivoted counterweighted. lever con? v forth.

5. In a platen printing-press, the combination with a type-bed, and means for rocking, balancing and controlling the movement of same, of an inking device comprising an inking-carriage, means for reciprocating the same over the bed, and means for pressing said inking-carriage on the bed with a uniform pressure at all points of its movement comprising a compensating lever pivoted to said reciproeating means, aspring connected to the latter andto the compensating lever the tension of said spring being'constant, and a cam-path aga nst which said compensating lever bears substantially as described. 6. In a platen printing-press, the combination with a type-bed and means for rocking.

and means for disconnecting. the pawl-andratchet gear from said disk substantially as described.

7 In a platen printing-press, the combina tion with a type-bed and means for rocking, balancing and controlling the movement thereof, of an inking device adapted to be reciprocated over the bed, an inking-cylinder adapted to supply said inking device, and means for uniformly distributing ink on said cylinder, comprising a licking-roller, means for supplying the latter, levers supporting said licking-roller, arms adapted to be coupled and uncoupled to and from said levers, and means for rocking said arms from the bed substantially as described.

8. In a platen printing-press, the combination of a rocking type-bed, means for balancing and controlling the movement thereof, an inking device adapted to be reciprocated over said bed, means for pressing said inking device on the bed with a uniform pressure at all points of its movement, means for locking the bed in its upper position for inking purposes, an inking-cylinder adapted to supply said inking device, and means for uniformly distributing ink on said cylinder substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEF HEIM.

Witnesses:

ERWIN DIPPEL, MICHAEL VoLK. 

